Texas, the troubled child of the United States, is once again in the mouths of those wishing for the collapse of the “Evil Empire.” A plethora of posts have flowed through social media convincing the reader that the moment has arrived – the Lone Star State will regain its status as an independent republic and in doing so, knock the house off the map of the United States.
The occasion for the renewed speculation about Texas seceding was the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling a few weeks ago that the 47-foot barbed-wire fence that Texas erected along the river. Rio Grande to stop the entry of illegal immigrants was illegal and should be removed.
Facebook posts about “the beginning of the end” appeared in which pictures of trucks “blocking the border” were used to illustrate the popular discontent of Texans, but a check by bTV showed that the illustrations were from a completely different event in October 2023.
Ideas that the Lone Star State – so called because of its former status as an independent republic – is about to secede from the US are being pushed by Texan politicians.
“Texas could absolutely, 100%, choose to leave the union,” says Daniel Miller, chairman of the Texas Nationalist Movement, in a video dedicated to Texit. He cites elements of the U.S. Constitution in confirmation. “It’s the choice of the people of Texas and the people alone.” Miller’s interview with British TV channel GBNews, titled “NOTHING in the U.S. Constitution can prevent Texas from seceding from the Union,” can be viewed here.
The fact-checking team at BNR decided to find out whether Texas secession was practicable, under US law.
Claim: The U.S. Constitution gives Texas the “absolute legal right” to secede
As is well known, the legal system of the United States is based on case law, while ours is based on Roman law. Under case law, a case should be resolved analogously to how it was resolved in another similar case.
“Precedent in law – a judgment or decision of a court that is cited in a subsequent dispute as an example or analogy to justify deciding a similar case or legal issue in the same way. Common law and equity, as found in the English and American legal systems, rely heavily on the body of established precedent, although in the original development of the justice system the court theoretically had freedom from precedent. In the late nineteenth century, the principle of stare decisis (Latin: “let the decision stand”) was firmly adopted in England. In the United States, the principle of precedent is firm, although higher courts – especially the United States Supreme Court – may review and overrule earlier precedents.”
(Encyclopedia Britannica)
The idea that the 28th state could declare independence from the union was tossed around 15 years ago by then Texas Governor Rick Perry. Now jokingly, now seriously, Perry’s successor, current governor Greg Abbott, is also embracing the cause. The legal arguments put forward by Texit supporters are the same. Nationalist politician Daniel Miller also invokes them. And they are: Article 1, Section 10, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution, and the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We’ll look at them separately.
1. Texas can leave the Union because the founding document, the U.S. Constitution, does not specify that it cannot.
Article 1, Section 10, Clause 1.3 of the Constitution
No state shall make treaties, alliances, or confederacies; issue letters of prohibition and reprisal; coin money; issue bills of exchange; make any other means of payment than gold and silver coin for the payment of debts; condemn without process of law, pass, ex post facto (retroactive – ed.) laws, or laws violating the obligation of treaties, or grant titles of nobility.
2. Under Texas law, the state has the right to overthrow its government (and secede from the United States) if it harms the interest of the people.
Article 1, Section 2 of the Texas Constitution
All political power is vested in the people, and all free governments are founded on their will and instituted for their benefit. The people of Texas firmly believe in the republican form of government and, subject to that condition, have the inalienable right at any time to alter, reform, or abolish their government in any manner they see fit.
3. The Tenth Amendment empowers the states or the people of the states to make decisions not expressly prohibited by the Constitution.
The 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
The powers not delegated to the United States or prohibited to the States by the Constitution are reserved to the States or to the people, respectively.
Legal and historical precedents that block secession
The question of whether Texas could secede is largely academic. According to legal historians and constitutional experts, this issue has been resolved pre
